leaflet for parents on starting early yrs setting for child with food allergies.

Sounds fantastic! Anything that helps carers feel more informed and therefore confident is a brilliant idea - have replied to your other thread. It also saves parents having to start the conversation from scratch and navigate the 'please take this seriously but don't freak out' line which is so hard to do.

btw I am a parent of an allergic child and a Early years worker (that was my job before I had kids as well) and I just wanted to make sure that I had the views of other parents and that I am on the right track.

I am limited on space for the leaflet which has six sides, and as I write it i am wondering if this is going to educate the staff in an indirect way!

i am also going to add something along the lines of being inclusive in an emotional and verbal way. That the child deserves to be safe and feel safe with the adults that are around them. (this is where I need to add a theorist, such as bruner or piaget)

also that child is more than just a person with allergies.

the medical stuff is going to ask for written medical back up, and give links to the medicines in early years and schools document.

as for legislation, can add the data protection act 1998 and freedom of information act 2010. allergies are not considered a disability , but the inclusion side of things for schools, education etc does mean we have some way to back up things iyswim.

I want to make this leaflet something I would have loved to have had when my son started his school life, and to have recieved from staff who knew what allergy was for a start!

Am I right in thinking that you are an early years professional? (seem to remember you saying this on previous threads, but might be mistaken). If so, you probably know a lot more than me about what this leaflet needs to say... but I will still add my hapennorth as a parent, just in case its useful

The leaflet could maybe include a general statement about the responsibility of providers to cater equally well for all children - perhaps with an appropriate quote from the EYFS? (Providers should be planning for the individual needs of every child, as a matter of course and regardless of race, gender, cultural background, specific educational needs, different abilities, EAL, unusual family structures, whether or not they have allergies etc. etc.)

I think mentioning the policies is a good idea. Some settings give hard copies of all policies to all parents, but some just say they are available on our website if you want to see them.

Maybe your leaflet could also include some of the following? :

What you can expect from your childcare provider: e.g.

-A promise to work closely with parents and with other professionals in order to ensure the safety and inclusion of the child

-ALL staff to be made aware of the childs allergies, and to receive regular training on how to recognise the signs of an allergic reaction (not just one token member of staff who may be sick or away on a course when your child has an allergic reaction...)

-ALL staff to have easy access to the childs medication, and to be trained to use it in an emergency

-A plan to be put in place for minimising the risk of allergic reactions at the setting (e.g. excluding environmental allergens as far as possible, all children having their hands wiped on the way in, maybe other parents being made aware so that they can keep their children clean and exclude food allergens, animal fur etc. as well as they can). This plan to be reviewed regularly.

-All activities to be assessed for safety and inclusion, and the childs allergies included in the risk assessment. For example, outdoor activities for children with hayfever, cooking activities should be planned well in advance and ingredients checked with parents. Activities involving animals to be checked with parents. Craft and other equipment to be checked regularly for possible allergens.

-If the child has food allergies, special care to be taken with snack times. Parents may be allowed to send food in if necessary, but will not be expected to do so. If the child reacts on skin contact, ways of minimising risk while maintaining social inclusion (e.g. sat at same table as other children but with member of staff one side and empty space the other side).

-A promise that the childs allergies will be managed sensitively, balancing the need to keep them safe with the need to make sure they are confident, happy and socially included.

Your responsibilities as a parent

Parents know their own children best...

-To work in close partnership with us, so that we can ensure the safety and inclusion of your child. We will need to know about any medical history, and it would be helpful if you could give us copies of any letters etc. regarding your childs allergies and any special needs.

-Please let us know if anything has affected your child recently (for example, if they have had a reaction to something new, or if they are unwell for any other reason).

-We will often need to check things with you (for example, activities and trips that we have planned and any new craft equipment that we are bringing into the setting). We will try to give you advance notice of anything that we need to discuss with you, but please be flexible if we find that we need to have a quick chat with you at short notice.

There could also be a section with happy speech bubble style quotes from contented parents... Here are a couple you can use from me:

It was hard for me to trust anybody else to look after my son because his allergies are so severe, but the staff at his preschool take really good care of him. He loves coming here, and he gains a lot from playing and learning with the other children

And

I know that it was a challenge for this setting to accept my child, but the staff have taken the time to listen to all my concerns. They have also worked very closely with other agencies, like my childs doctor and the school nurse team.

Sorry Ive written such an essay, but I am so very happy that you are considering producing this leaflet. Maybe, as well as providing reassurance for parents, it could be a kind of template setting out what providers should be doing to include allergic children.

1 leaflet cannot cover all allergies can it? Allergies to materials are different to allergies to medication to food etc....

And if it is a leaflet for parents about a setting ( nursery/childminders etc) then wouldn't it be best for that setting/venue to write it. And don't they have policies on it?

Or is this about general info regarding inclusion?

It's not allergies in our family but intolerance and we found the dietician, hospital very useful in letting us know what to beware of when DS2 began nursery and helping the nursery to handle the situation ( just like we had to learn). There's a child with severe allergies at DS2's nurseries and he has been blue-lighted several times (not due to nursery but because of his health issues) and the parents/medical team and nursery work so hard together to keep him at a mainstream nursery.

one of the tasks for my early years BA modules is to create a leaflet for parents. This is based on inclusion, and I am considering one for parents when they first start their allergic child in a setting.

can you tell what you would like to see on a leaflet like this?

I havent come across a parent information leaflet from a early years setting if you have, can you let me see it?!!